Cultivating your children’s social consciousness can spark a lifelong devotion to bettering the planet. It’s also one of the most powerful ways to build them a brighter future. We asked the experts to weigh in on what you can do to make social action a family affair, whether your children want to clean up nearby parks or stop injustice around the world.

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While some kids might boldly announce that they want to fight for animal rights or battle global warming, others may need some help in expressing their cares and concerns. “Parents need to grow a second pair of ears,” says Wendy Lesko, director of the Youth Activism Project (an organization that provides resources and training for young activists; www.youthactivism.com). “Often kids will put something out there that’s just a partial idea. But if parents sprinkle a little fertilizer on it, it can grow into something quite extraordinary.”

To encourage your kids to share those partial ideas in the first place, turn everyday gatherings into forums for conversation. “There’s a lot that can happen over the dinner table,” says Dan Chiras, author of Ecokids: Raising Children Who Care for the Earth. To get a dialogue going, Chiras recommends bringing up a piece of news that might kindle your child’s interest. “You could say, ‘Hey, I read an article about an endangered species today,’ and then pair that with a discussion about what you as a family can do to help.”

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When stress gets parents down, chances are good that it's also affecting their kids. According to the National Mental Health Association, children in overstressed families are more likely to experience anxiety, insomnia, depression and poor self esteem. But that's where the bad news ends. Why? Because yoga, long known as an antidote to stress for adults, is also an ideal stress-reducer for the younger set--and many yoga advocates are working to bring their special forms of yoga into schools and homes across America.

Among the groups aiming to get yoga into the school curriculum is Yoga Ed., founded by Tara Guber and directed by Leah Kalish. Yoga Ed. offers two playful and positive programs to schools, one that's a physical-education option and another that gives classroom teachers the skills to integrate yoga and breathing activities throughout the day. At The Accelerated School in Los Angeles, Yoga Ed. is a physical-education choice; a 2003 study of its program by the Program Evaluation and Research Collaborative found that Yoga Ed. students showed a 20% increase in self esteem by the end of the school year and that students who regularly attended Yoga Ed. had fewer disciplinary problems and better grades. The fifth graders in the program were 23.4% more fit than their peers, and the seventh graders were 28.5% more fit. School codirector Kevin Sved notes, "In our experience, the benefits of yoga are unquestionable."

Fourth-graders at Public School #198 in Bronx, NY, have also had the chance to learn yoga, this time when teachers integrated yoga movement and breathing into their classrooms with the Yoga Ed. Tools for Teachers program. A 2005 study of the school's program by Emily Davison found that "participation in Yoga Ed. raises self-esteem, calms and relaxes the self in the face of feared testing situations, [and] develops a sense of compassion. . . . After just a few weeks of Yoga Ed., students show a boost in self-esteem, highly agreeing with statements such as I have self-confidence, I am good enough and I feel like a success. "

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